It is familiar territory and familiar pressures for Anthony Seibold as he returns to Brisbane this week with a new job title.
Seibold was sacked as Broncos coach in 2020 and has reinvented himself as a rugby defence coach with England under fellow Australian Eddie Jones.
He has a lot on his plate.
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The British media are sharpening their knives as England continue to struggle since reaching the final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
England finished fifth in the 2022 Six Nations and have been downed by 14 man opponents in their last two outings – a 52-21 loss to the Barbarians and a 30-28 defeat to the Wallabies.
The second Test is at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday and Seibold said England would lean on their senior players to dig themselves out of a hole.
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“You look at our leaders like Courtney Lawes, Owen Farrell and Ellis Genge – you want to go to war with those guys. You do,” Seibold said.
“I know Owen spoke about how this is an opportunity for us. I do think we’ve got some guys in our group who are up for this and that’s the exciting thing.”
Australia’s win in Perth meant they leapfrogged England into fifth on the world rankings and Dave Rennie’s men can secure the inaugural Ella-Mobbs Trophy with victory in Brisbane.
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Adding to the degree of difficulty for Seibold is the loss of one of England’s premier defenders, Tom Curry.
The world class flanker suffered a head knock while tackling Samu Kerevi at Optus Stadium and is out of the series with concussion.
“It’s about looking after the welfare of Tom,” Seibold said.
“There’s a longer-term piece at play with Tom’s health. He’s had some concussions over the recent period of time so the medical staff would rather err on the side of caution. We don’t have any concerns over his medium to longer-term health.
“The medical team have made the decision that rather than keeping Tom for the rest of the tour he can get home, get some rest and recover back home.
“He’s in good form, I was talking to him this morning. He’s disappointed he’s not staying and can’t play because he’s a competitor, but there’s a longer-term view at play.”
Sam Underhill is the obvious replacement when Jones reveals his team on Thursday.
“Sam’s work rate on and off the ball are excellent,” Seibold said.
“He’s a really good defender, particularly with his chop tackles. He’s played at a high level. I’m thinking of New Zealand at Twickenham in 2018 and, watching his performances at the World Cup from afar, he was a standout for me.”
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